Shoe with inflatable bladder and secure deflation valve

ABSTRACT

An inflatable shoe with a deflation valve designed to limit inadvertent operation of the valve and thereby limit inadvertent deflation of the shoe. The deflation valve has a shortened plunger, a collar to prevent tilt of the plunger, and a conformable ring on the valve face. The plunger is provided with a groove sized and dimensioned to partially receive the inner surface of the ring.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/738,947 filed Dec. 15, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,487, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/660,265 filed Sep.12, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,486.

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS

The inventions described below relate to the field of valves, and morespecifically to valves suitable for use with inflatable garments such asshoes and boots.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS

A number of shoes and boots may be improved with the use of air bladdersplaced within the shoe or boot. The air bladders are preferablyselectively inflatable and deflatable, so that a wearer can adjust thefit of the shoe. The pump device is popular with basketball shoes, skiboots, and snowboard boots. Lakic, Miniature Universal Pump And ValveFor Inflatable Liners, U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,063 (Dec. 8, 1998)illustrates a number of embodiments of such inflatable garments, and anumber of embodiments for various components of the devices.

The inflatable shoes use a bladder pump for inflation, and a simplefinger operated plunge valve to deflate the inflatable bladder. Theplunge valve is operated merely by pushing a small plunger or valve steminwardly toward the boot. Both the bladder pump and the plunge valve areplaced on the surface of the shoe, and are easily accessible to thewearer. However, where the shoe is used in a rough activity, such asskiing or snowboarding, contact between the shoe and the ground, or theskis or snowboard, can inadvertently depress the plunger, and therebyoperate the deflation valve. Thus, having once inflated the bladder toobtain optimum fit of the shoe, the shoe is likely to deflate during aski run or snowboard run, when proper fit is most important.

SUMMARY

The devices described below provide a secure deflation valve for a shoeor boot. The deflation valve is less subject to inadvertent deflationcaused by the rough and tumble of the activity for which the shoe isworn. The deflation valve includes a non-conformable valve housing,which cannot be deformed relative to the plunger of the valve. The valvebody also has a closely fitting port through which the plunger exits thevalve, thereby limiting the potential tilt of the plunger relative tothe valve body and valve seat. Additionally, the plunger is much shorterthan prior plungers, and the valve face is provided with a soft siliconsealing ring (like an O-ring) which conforms to the space between thevalve face and valve seat during any tilting movement of the valve faceand valve seat.

While developed for use with snowboard shoes and ski boots, the valvemay be used for any selectively inflatable bladder where it is desiredto provide a more secure deflation valve that is not subject toinadvertent operation during use of the bladder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of the device in one intended use, namely a sport shoewith an inflatable bladder.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the valve shown in its housing, whichis integral with the bladder pump.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of a prior art valve.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of a new deflation valve which minimizeschance of inadvertent unseating of the valve during use of the shoe.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of the deflation valve with improvements tothe valve stem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONS

FIG. 1 is a view of the device in a sport shoe with an inflatablebladder. The shoe 1 may be any type of shoe, such as a ski boot,snowboard boot, or basketball shoe. The shoe has a bladder 2, which islocated in the shoe in positions dependant on the use of the shoe. Forexample, the bladder may be located on the tongue of shoe, on theuppers, the sole, or around the heel. The pump 3 and the deflation valve4 are located in any convenient place on the shoe or boot, and they areshown here located in the upper, high on the lateral side of the shoe.To operate the pump, the wearer repeatedly squeezes the pump until thedesired degree of inflation is achieved. To deflate the bladder, theoperator pushes the plunger on the deflation valve.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the valve shown in its housing, whichis integral with the bladder pump. The bladder pump 3 simply comprises abulb 5, an inlet port 6 which takes suction on the surrounding air orother fluid (and includes a check valve so that fluid once sucked intothe bulb cannot exit this port), and an outlet port 7 (the outlet portalso includes a check valve so that air once forced out of bulb and intothe shoe bladder cannot bleed out of the shoe bladder and into thebulb). The outlet port communicates with the T-junction 8. TheT-junction connects the bladder supply port 9, the pump outlet, and thedeflation valve. The deflation valve 4 has an input port in immediatefluid communication with the bladder supply port through the T-junction,and an output port through the opening on the top of the valve (morefully shown in FIG. 4.)

When operated by the user, the deflation valve allows air from thebladder to exhaust to the atmosphere. The deflation valve is operated bydepressing the plunger 10, and holding the plunger down until the air inthe bladder has exhausted through the valve. The pump and deflationvalve assembly are mounted on the shoe, as shown in FIG. 1. As can beappreciated from these drawings, the plunger 10 is susceptible toinadvertent operation since it requires only minor force to operate, andthe valve is located such that it is subject to depression duringinadvertent contact with objects, the ground and ground debris, and theoperator and equipment carried by the operator.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of a prior art pump and valve assembly. As inFIG. 2, the assembly comprises the bulb 5, pump inlet port 6, pumpoutlet port 7, T-junction 8, and bladder supply port 9. The deflationvalve of the prior art, as illustrated in FIG. 3, uses a plunger 11which additionally comprises a plunger disk 12, valve stem 13, a valveface in the form of ball 14, all within the valve body 15. The uppersurface of the valve face is matched to the valve seat 16, formed on thelower surface of inner flange 17 which protrudes inwardly into the valvebody. The valve spring 18 biases the plunger upward, forcing the valveface into contact with the valve seat with enough force to create anairtight seal. The valve body and flange are typically made of siliconor other soft elastic material.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of a new deflation valve which minimizes thechance of inadvertent unseating of the valve during use of the shoe. Asin FIG. 2, the assembly comprises the bulb 5, pump inlet port (notshown), pump outlet port 7, T-junction 8, and bladder supply port 9. Thedeflation valve 4 comprises a two part valve body, with a lower valvebody 23 made of a hard plastic, and an upper valve body 24 made ofsimilar hard plastic or other relatively stiff and non-conformablematerial. The upper valve body is force fit into the lower valve bodyand glued in place. The upper valve body additionally comprises aninwardly protruding flange 25, located at or near the upper end of thevalve body. The valve seat 26 is located on the lower surface of thisflange. The plunger 27 is relatively short, and does not need a plungerdisk on its upper extremity. At the upper end of the plunger, theplunger outer diameter is closely matched to the inner diameter or boreof the flange 25, with clearance to allow upward and downward movement,but closely matched to limit tilting and sideways movement. At thebottom of the plunger, a disk 28 provides a valve face 29 on the uppersurface of the disk and a bottom surface 30 upon which biasing spring 31may act. The plunger may include a lower extension 32 with a diametersmaller than the disk, closely matching the inner diameter of thebiasing spring 31, which will serve to keep the spring and disk invertical alignment and proper registration. The biasing spring islocated below the plunger, and acts on the lower surface of the disk toforce the plunger upwardly. The biasing spring rests on a surfaceprovided by a flange or lower inner surface of the lower valve body. Theplunger is preferably made of metal or hard plastic, and may generallybe described as having a cylindrical upper segment of a first, smalldiameter, a middle segment of conical or frustoconical shape having amaximum outer diameter approximating the outer diameter of the spring(but in any case not substantially smaller than the outer diameter ofthe spring) and a lower segment having a diameter approximating theinner diameter of the spring. A soft, deformable ring 33 is placed onthe plunger, above the disk 28, to enhance the sealing capability of thevalve. The deformable ring may be fixed to the upper conical surface ofthe plunger mid-section or it may be fixed to the lower surface offlange 25, or it may merely be placed between the plunger and theflange. This ring is made of silicon rubber or similar soft, compliantmaterial. This is particularly useful in case of any tilting of theplunger. The valve is covered by a rubber condom or housing 34, and canbe operated by the operator through the rubber condom.

To operate the valve, the wearer merely pushes downwardly on the plunger27. The close fit of the flange 25 around the plunger permits upward anddownward movement, but inhibits sideways or tilting movement of theplunger which would otherwise permit deflation. Since the spring islocated below the plunger, and the valve seat is at the top of thevalve, the plunger does not need to be long enough to pass all the waythrough the spring, thereby limiting the possible extent of tilting ofthe plunger. Also, because the valve body is made of hard plastic,deformation of the top of the valve body relative to the bottom of thevalve body is not possible with the expected forces applied duringsnowboarding, skiing and other rough activities.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of the deflation valve with improvements tothe valve stem that ensure that the ring moves downwardly with theplunger during operation. The valve includes the parts described inrelation to FIG. 4, including the lower valve body 23 and the uppervalve body 24, the valve body flange 25 and the matching valve seat 26,the plunger 27, the disk 28 with its valve face 29 and bottom surface30, the spring 31 and the lower extension 32 of the valve stem, and thedeformable ring 33. The plunger has been modified vis-à-vis the plungerof FIG. 4 with the provision of an annular groove 40 circumscribing theupper segment of the plunger, near the junction of the upper segment 41of the plunger to the disk 28. The dimensions of the annular groove arechosen to match the ring 33, such that the ring protrudes into thegroove to an extent that provides some engagement between the uppersegment and the ring, and downward movement of the upper segment andplunger exerts a downward force on the ring. The groove depth may besuch that the resulting diameter 42 of the grooved segment of theplunger is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the ring, or itmay be such that the resulting diameter is exactly equal to the innerdiameter of the ring, or it may be such the resulting diameter issmaller than the inner diameter of the ring and the engagement betweenthe plunger and the ring is loose in the horizontal plane established bythe groove. The longitudinal extent 43 of the groove may likewise bevariable, from heights which are smaller than the height of the ring,exactly matching the ring, or substantially larger than the ring, solong as inward or downward movement of the plunger will result inimpingement of the groove upper surface on some portion of the ringduring some portion of the inward or vertical throw of the plunger. (Itshould be noted that, in the above description, the terms vertical andupward are used in reference to the valve when positioned as shown, andthey may have no relationship to the vertical and horizontal as thevalve is fitted onto any particular boot.)

The devices described above have been described in the context of sportshoes using inflatable bladders. However, the deflation valve may beused with other selectively inflatable devices, such as sport helmets,water flotation aids, in medical devices such as dissection balloons,and in any other application where enhanced reliability and control overdeflation of a selectively inflatable bladder is desired. Thus, whilethe preferred embodiments of the devices and methods have been describedin reference to the environment in which they were developed, they aremerely illustrative of the principles of the inventions. Otherembodiments and configurations may be devised without departing from thespirit of the inventions and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A pump and deflation valve assembly for use with a fluidbladder, said assembly comprising: a pump having an inlet port and anoutlet port, said outlet port aligned to discharge fluid into thebladder; a deflation valve having an input port in fluid communicationwith the bladder and an output port; said deflation valve comprising: avalve body comprised of a non-conformable material, said valve bodyhaving a bore extending therethrough, from the inlet port to the outletport; an upper inwardly extending flange, said flange characterized by abottom surface, a top surface, and a bore extending from the bottomsurface to the top surface, said bottom surface serving as a valve seat;a plunger extending through the bore, said plunger having a uppersegment of small diameter making it capable of moving through the boreof the upper inwardly extending flange, said plunger having a lowersegment of larger diameter such that said lower segment cannot passthrough the bore of the upper inwardly extending flange, said lowersegment of the plunger having a upper surface positioned in appositionto the bottom surface of the upper inwardly extending flange and a lowersurface.
 2. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 1 furthercomprising a ring comprising a conformable material disposed between theplunger lower segment and the upper inwardly extending flange.
 3. Thepump and deflation valve assembly of claim 1 further comprising ahousing covering the deflation valve.
 4. The pump and deflation valveassembly of claim 3 wherein the housing comprises a resilient housing.5. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 1 wherein the smalldiameter of the upper segment of the plunger is about equal to thediameter of the bore.
 6. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim1 further comprising a spring positioned below the plunger lowersegment, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 7. The pump anddeflation valve assembly of claim 1 further comprising a disk disposedon the plunger, said disk having an upper surface and a lower surface,wherein the upper surface of the disk corresponds to the upper surfaceof the lower segment.
 8. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim7 wherein the lower segment further comprises a lower extension attachedto the disk, said lower extension having a diameter smaller than thedisk.
 9. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 8 furthercomprising a spring positioned below the lower surface of the disk, saidspring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 10. The pump of claim 9 wherein thespring is disposed around the lower extension.
 11. The pump anddeflation valve assembly of claim 1 wherein the lower segment has afrustoconical shape.
 12. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim11 further comprising a spring positioned below the plunger lowersegment, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 13. The pump anddeflation valve assembly of claim 1 further comprising: a ringcomprising a conformable material disposed between the plunger lowersegment and the upper inwardly extending flange; a housing covering thedeflation valve; a disk disposed on the plunger, said disk having anupper surface and a lower surface, wherein the upper surface of the diskcorresponds to the upper surface of the lower segment, wherein the lowersegment further comprises a lower extension attached to the disk, saidlower extension having a diameter smaller than the disk; a springpositioned below the lower surface of the disk, said spring biasing theplunger upwardly, wherein the spring is disposed around the lowerextension; wherein the small diameter of the upper segment of theplunger is about equal to the diameter of the bore.
 14. A shoecomprising: at least one inflatable bladder disposed within the shoe; apump in fluid communication with the bladder, said pump having an inletport and an outlet port, said outlet port aligned to discharge fluidinto the bladder; a deflation valve having an input port in fluidcommunication with the bladder and an output port; said deflation valvecomprising: a valve body comprised of a non-conformable material, saidvalve body having a bore extending therethrough, from the inlet port tothe outlet port; an upper inwardly extending flange, said flangecharacterized by a bottom surface, a top surface, and a bore extendingfrom the bottom surface to the top surface, said bottom surface servingas a valve seat; a plunger extending through the bore, said plungerhaving a upper segment of small diameter making it capable of movingthrough the bore of the upper inwardly extending flange, said plungerhaving a lower segment of larger diameter such that said lower segmentcannot pass through the bore of the upper inwardly extending flange,said lower segment of the plunger having a upper surface positioned inapposition to the bottom surface of the upper inwardly extending flangeand a lower surface.
 15. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim14 further comprising a ring comprising a conformable material disposedbetween the plunger lower segment and the upper inwardly extendingflange.
 16. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 14 furthercomprising a housing covering the deflation valve.
 17. The pump anddeflation valve assembly of claim 16 wherein the housing comprises aresilient housing.
 18. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 14wherein the small diameter of the upper segment of the plunger is aboutequal to the diameter of the bore.
 19. The pump and deflation valveassembly of claim 14 further comprising a spring positioned below theplunger lower segment, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 20. Thepump and deflation valve assembly of claim 14 further comprising a diskdisposed on the plunger, said disk having an upper surface and a lowersurface, wherein the upper surface of the disk corresponds to the uppersurface of the lower segment.
 21. The pump and deflation valve assemblyof claim 20 wherein the lower segment further comprises a lowerextension attached to the disk, said lower extension having a diametersmaller than the disk.
 22. The pump and deflation valve assembly ofclaim 21 further comprising a spring positioned below the lower surfaceof the disk, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 23. The pump ofclaim 22 wherein the spring is disposed around the lower extension. 24.The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 14 wherein the lowersegment has a frustoconical shape.
 25. The pump and deflation valveassembly of claim 24 further comprising a spring positioned below theplunger lower segment, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 26. Thepump and deflation valve assembly of claim 14 further comprising: a ringcomprising a conformable material disposed between the plunger lowersegment and the upper inwardly extending flange; a housing covering thedeflation valve; a disk disposed on the plunger, said disk having anupper surface and a lower surface, wherein the upper surface of the diskcorresponds to the upper surface of the lower segment, wherein the lowersegment further comprises a lower extension attached to the disk, saidlower extension having a diameter smaller than the disk; a springpositioned below the lower surface of the disk, said spring biasing theplunger upwardly, wherein the spring is disposed around the lowerextension; wherein the small diameter of the upper segment of theplunger is about equal to the diameter of the bore.
 27. A pump anddeflation valve assembly for use with a fluid bladder, said assemblycomprising: a pump having an inlet port and an outlet port, said outletport aligned to discharge fluid into the bladder; a deflation valvehaving an input port in fluid communication with the bladder and anoutput port; said deflation valve comprising: a valve body comprised ofa non-conformable material, said valve body having a bore extendingtherethrough, from the inlet port to the outlet port; an inwardlyextending flange, said flange characterized by a bottom surface, a topsurface, and a bore extending from the bottom surface to the topsurface, said bottom surface serving as a valve seat; a plungerextending through the bore, said plunger having an upper segment ofsmall diameter making it capable of moving through the bore of the upperinwardly extending flange, said upper segment having an annular groovethereon, said plunger having a lower segment of larger diameter suchthat said lower segment cannot pass through the bore of the upperinwardly extending flange, said lower segment of the plunger having anupper surface positioned in apposition to the bottom surface of theupper inwardly extending flange and a lower surface.
 28. The pump anddeflation valve assembly of claim 27 further comprising a ringcomprising a conformable material disposed between the plunger lowersegment and the upper inwardly extending flange, said ring having aninner diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the upper segment.29. The device of claim 28 wherein the ring is disposed partially withinthe groove of the upper segment.
 30. The pump and deflation valveassembly of claim 27 further comprising a housing covering the deflationvalve.
 31. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 30 wherein thehousing comprises a resilient housing.
 32. The pump and deflation valveassembly of claim 27 wherein the small diameter of the upper segment ofthe plunger is about equal to the diameter of the bore.
 33. The pump anddeflation valve assembly of claim 27 further comprising a springpositioned below the plunger lower segment, said spring biasing theplunger upwardly.
 34. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 27further comprising a disk disposed on the plunger, said disk having anupper surface and a lower surface, wherein the upper surface of the diskcorresponds to the upper surface of the lower segment.
 35. The pump anddeflation valve assembly of claim 34 wherein the lower segment furthercomprises a lower extension attached to the disk, said lower extensionhaving a diameter smaller than the disk.
 36. The pump and deflationvalve assembly of claim 35 further comprising a spring positioned belowthe lower surface of the disk, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.37. The pump of claim 36 wherein the spring is disposed around the lowerextension.
 38. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 27 whereinthe lower segment has a frustoconical shape.
 39. The pump and deflationvalve assembly of claim 38 further comprising a spring positioned belowthe plunger lower segment, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly. 40.The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 27 further comprising: aring comprising a conformable material disposed between the plungerlower segment and the upper inwardly extending flange, said ring havingan inner diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the uppersegment; a housing covering the deflation valve; a disk disposed on theplunger, said disk having an upper surface and a lower surface, whereinthe upper surface of the disk corresponds to the upper surface of thelower segment, wherein the lower segment further comprises a lowerextension attached to the disk, said lower extension having a diametersmaller than the disk; a spring positioned below the lower surface ofthe disk, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly, wherein the springis disposed around the lower extension; wherein the small diameter ofthe upper segment of the plunger is about equal to the diameter of thebore.
 41. A shoe comprising: at least one inflatable bladder disposedwithin the shoe; a pump in fluid communication with the bladder, saidpump having an inlet port and an outlet port, said outlet port alignedto discharge fluid into the bladder; a deflation valve having an inputport in fluid communication with the bladder and an output port; saiddeflation valve comprising: a valve body comprised of a non-conformablematerial, said valve body having a bore extending therethrough, from theinlet port to the outlet port, an inwardly extending flange, said flangecharacterized by a bottom surface, a top surface, and a bore extendingfrom the bottom surface to the top surface, said bottom surface servingas a valve seat; a plunger extending through the bore, said plungerhaving an upper segment of small diameter making it capable of movingthrough the bore of the upper inwardly extending flange, said uppersegment having an annular groove thereon, said plunger having a lowersegment of larger diameter such that said lower segment cannot passthrough the bore of the upper inwardly extending flange, said lowersegment of the plunger having an upper surface positioned in appositionto the bottom surface of the upper inwardly extending flange and a lowersurface.
 42. The shoe of claim 41 further comprising a ring comprising aconformable material disposed between the plunger lower segment and theupper inwardly extending flange, said ring having an inner diameterslightly smaller than the diameter of the upper segment.
 43. The deviceof claim 42 wherein the ring is disposed partially within the groove ofthe upper segment.
 44. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 41further comprising a housing covering the deflation valve.
 45. The pumpand deflation valve assembly of claim 44 wherein the housing comprises aresilient housing.
 46. The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 41wherein the small diameter of the upper segment of the plunger is aboutequal to the diameter of the bore.
 47. The pump and deflation valveassembly of claim 41 further comprising a spring positioned below theplunger lower segment, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 48. Thepump and deflation valve assembly of claim 41 further comprising a diskdisposed on the plunger, said disk having an upper surface and a lowersurface, wherein the upper surface of the disk corresponds to the uppersurface of the lower segment.
 49. The pump and deflation valve assemblyof claim 48 wherein the lower segment further comprises a lowerextension attached to the disk, said lower extension having a diametersmaller than the disk.
 50. The pump and deflation valve assembly ofclaim 39 further comprising a spring positioned below the lower surfaceof the disk, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 51. The pump ofclaim 50 wherein the spring is disposed around the lower extension. 52.The pump and deflation valve assembly of claim 41 wherein the lowersegment has a frustoconical shape.
 53. The pump and deflation valveassembly of claim 52 further comprising a spring positioned below theplunger lower segment, said spring biasing the plunger upwardly.
 54. Thepump and deflation valve assembly of claim 41 further comprising: a ringcomprising a conformable material disposed between the plunger lowersegment and the upper inwardly extending flange, said ring having aninner diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the upper segment;a housing covering the deflation valve; a disk disposed on the plunger,said disk having an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein the uppersurface of the disk corresponds to the upper surface of the lowersegment, wherein the lower segment further comprises a lower extensionattached to the disk, said lower extension having a diameter smallerthan the disk; a spring positioned below the lower surface of the disk,said spring biasing the plunger upwardly, wherein the spring is disposedaround the lower extension; wherein the small diameter of the uppersegment of the plunger is about equal to the diameter of the bore.